Box Score

ONEONTA, NY- The Hartwick defense limited visiting Elmira to just 15 points in the second half as the Hawks stopped their five-game losing streak with a 64-44 win on Saturday night at Lambros Arena. Hartwick improves its record to 12-11 overall and 4-8 in the Empire 8. Elmira drops to 6-17 overall and 3-9 in the Empire 8. Prior to the game, Hartwick honored seniors Travis Godley (Putnam, CT/Putnam Science Academy), Aaron Laing (Laurens, NY/Laurens), and student assistant Kyle Greeley.

The Hawks held the Soaring Eagles to just 24.1 % shooting in the second half. Hartwick shot nearly 54% (15-of-28) from the floor and hit almost 56% (5-of-9) if its three-point attempts in the second frame.

Kyle Bradley (Cornwall, NY/Mansfield University) led all scorers with 18 points and pulled down 11 rebounds for his third double-double of the season. Jared Suderley (Newport, NY/West Canada Valley) chipped in 16 points, five rebounds, and two steals.

Godley scored eight points in his final home regular season game as a Hawk. Peter Melanson (Little Compton, RI/Bishop Stang) contributed six points off the bench in 20 minutes of game time.

“Our seniors did a good job tonight and Travis hit some big threes,” said head coach Todd McGuinness. “Christian Laputka (Freeland, PA/Hazleton Area) did a good job of guarding their shooter. Kyle did well controlling the glass.”

The Soaring Eagles were led by Chris Cassidy's 17 points and eight rebounds. Derrick Vogel scored 14 points and added six rebounds and four assists.

The score was tied three times in the first half and there were five lead changes. Godley started the game with a layup and the Soaring Eagles tied it up on a jumper from Kurt Dutcher. After four more lead changes and two ties, the Hawks gained some separation from their opponent with an 8-0 run to go ahead 16-10 at 11:36.

Hartwick led by as much as seven points, 27-20, at 4:38. Elmira would close out the first half on a 9-1 run that ended with a Josh Keys' trey with 50 seconds on the clock to give the Soaring Eagles a 29-28 lead at halftime.

Bradley opened the second half of play with a layup to give Hartwick back the lead. Cassidy answered with a layup of his own to put Elmira ahead by one, 31-30 at 17:29.

From that point on the Hawks never trailed in the game again. A 10-0 Hartwick run put the home team ahead 40-31 at 14:01. The Soaring Eagles would reduce the deficit to five points at 12:44.

Bradley's layup with 11:13 showing on the clock started a 24-7 Hartwick run that covered over 10 minutes of game time. The 'Wick defense held Elmira in check for the final 5:10 of the game as it surrendered only four points during that time frame.

“We did a good job defensively tonight as we got to their shooters and rebounded the ball when they missed,” said McGuinness. The Hawks outrebounded the Soaring Eagles 40-29 including a 28-20 advantage on the defensive side.

Hartwick shot 45.6 % overall from the floor and made 41% of its three-point shots. The Hawks controlled the paint with a dominating 36-12 advantage.

'Wick heads on the road next Friday for a game with third-place St. John Fisher. Hartwick will be looking to avenge an 82-54 loss to the Cardinals back on January 11 at Lambros Arena. Tip-off will be at 8 p.m.